A Police Officer or a policeman regulates the law in the society to protect its people and ensure that the law is binding on each and every citizen of the society. He is responsible for deterring crimes and assures protection of the community through high visibility policing. Great responsibilities rest in the hand of a police officer. From patrolling to investigating crimes he assures that law violation and criminal act is least practice. In a nutshell, if a person chooses to become a police officer his career would solely rely on protecting the general public, crime prevention, prosecution, and punishment.
There is no minimum academic requirement but only people above a specific age can apply. Most importantly to become a law enforcement officer a person must be healthy and fit. His physical fitness, medical vision and hearing requirements are never compromised. Moreover, this is the only profession which also looks into a person’s past history and psychological conditions. Since a police officer is a well-reputed person in society his past shouldn’t engage in any law violation activity or drug addiction.
Moreover, his psychological conditions should also resonate with his professional life. Being a police officer demands stability, health, and peace of mind in order to make rational decisions. This is also important for society as well because law and law enforcement bodies are a direct reflection of society. Some major qualities of a competent police officer are:
Decision-making power:
A law enforcement officer must have strong decision-making skills in critical times. This is the best way to ensure if a person has analytical thinking skills. Taking rational decisions in life-threatening and serious conditions is what defines a police officer.
Emotional Control:
Rational decisions are only made when emotional grounds are strong. Reporting a crime or conducting any operation requires quick decisions to be made. But on the same hand if emotional balance is not achieved a person can never make sound decisions for society and as a consequence society can suffer.
Good communication skills:
An accomplished task is the result of teamwork and coordination of all people. Similarly when investigating a crime scene, searching suspects, controlling traffic or crowd, reporting cases and interviewing suspected criminals good communication is the key. Unhindered communication or any form of barrier between the modes of communication can result in failure of a task. Therefore, a police officer must have a strong hold on communication.
Leadership qualities:
It is pertinent to have leadership behavior and qualities when a police officer is leading a task. When you get to patrol or investigate against crime and arrest criminals all require leadership qualities because in a group one has to dominate or is always superior to ensure accountability and efficiency.
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